eBay

irishkelly74 · ‎06-01-2006

Yuck. I just received my first neutral. So, it's not a negative, but I hate seeing that ugly grey circle. I sold an art card to a young girl who was upset that I had left her name in her feedbback profile (which i had no idea wasnt allowed by ebay!!) I said something to the effect of "Thanks very much sarah". Her username has her name in it (sare) so I never thought about it. When i left her feedback, she emailed me saying that ebay doesnt allow that and I could get booted off of eBay if they knew. I profusely apologized to her as I was unaware of this. Then she receives the ATC. It was sealed in wax, then sprayed 3 times in an acrylic sealer, packed like a bomb, super secure in bubble wrap and plastic envelope. The buyer claims it melted in the heat and left it looking splotchy. I do know that when I coated it in wax, the back did have splotches on it due to picking it out of the wax and letting it run a bit on the back as to keep the front smooth, but not the front. I eamiled her back letting her know that it would be no problem to replace her card at my cost and ship for free, but she left me a darn neutral. UUUGGGHHH.

artistjillian · ‎06-01-2006

:( I still haven't gotten over my one neutral left some 4-5 years ago for no good reason at all (offline 36 hours so didn't respond promptly to emails). The transaction all went through fine. Had to remove one POSITIVE feedback though as the person accidently put another member's email address! So we did 'mutual removal', but I lost the positive. :( Sorry it happened to you. *hugs* ~Jillian

~Jillian

artist, Jillian Crider

... google me!

irishkelly74 · ‎06-01-2006

Thanks Jillian: I think I will pout for a while about this, but not much I can do. It is hard to please everyone all of the time and I guess I just need to expect that.

sunshinesketches · ‎06-01-2006

Some people are just weird. I got a neutral right near the beginning of my listings on eBay and it almost (ALMOST) stopped me from selling again. It was a beaded silk cuff bracelet, like the ones I do now, but 100% of the proceeds were going to American Cancer Society... This was my way of giving thanks that my mother-in-law beat her brain tumours. Well, this buyer sent me a personal cheque (that's "check" to you Americanskis), and took forever to send it. I only waited 3 days for it to clear, in spite of the fact that since it was a U.S. cheque and I lived in Canada, it could take a good MONTH to clear (I distinctly said NO personal cheques on the listing!). Not only that, but since it went through Missionfish, eBay's charity works, it was deducted from my Paypal right away. So, here I was out of pocket, and she left the neutral because she said "it took a long time to receive." HELLO? LONG TIME? Sheesh, it got there in a week from the minute I mailed it (reminder, Canada is a different country!). I was livid and left her a neutral too, briefly explaining why. When I emailed her and explained the above, she sent me a lukewarm apology in return. Grrrrrr. Too little, too late. Anyway, she was a newbie (only a few eBay transactions) and didn't realize what she was doing. /K

irishkelly74 · ‎06-01-2006

YIkes. Although I have never done it, I now understand why some sellers are reluctant to leave feedback until they know for sure the buyer is satisfied. I think it is against policy, but I get it why sellers do this. You want to know for sure that you have done everything possible to make a customer happy and if they leave a neutral because of a whim, or a bad day, or whatever, you are at their mercy.

artistjillian · ‎06-01-2006

Thank goodness you continued to sell Karen! The person who left me was a newbie, too. Ebay have fixed that now, so if it were 'today' I wouldn't have gotten it. My computer was down, so couldn't respond after the auction. With online stuff, I just wanna shout ... there IS a REAL life out there. We are individuals for the most part, not companies that do things production-line-like! *sigh* ~Jillian

~Jillian

artist, Jillian Crider

... google me!

sunshinesketches · ‎06-01-2006

*Snarl* I just took a trip down memory lane to see this again. I'm still mad, lol! Anyway, a neutral isn't the worst thing that can happen, hey it could be a little red minus sign which is much worse. AND keep in mind that you can leave a response to the buyer's bad feedback too, with an explanation if you want. Yeah, just because you had one bad experience shouldn't mean you stop selling altogether. Don't let it taint your impression of the whole process. Besides... isn't beeswax SUPPOSED to permeate the paper? I've only ever received one, and never made any but from what I know about wax, well... it's waxy!

irishkelly74 · ‎06-01-2006

yup- its waxy. Plus I sealed it with 3 coats of spray protectant. I gotta let this go. You are right- A red negative is more glaring than a neutral and I have left a response.

birdbluffstudio · ‎06-01-2006

I've had a tough time sending to Canada as well. Same thing happened with me, sunshine. It took forever to get a money order from her and then I was charged for cashing the money order. She only paid US shipping even though my listings say out of US pay more. I decided that this was just a very dingy customer. she told me she would be buying more of my art since she liked it so for about 6 months, I sold in the US only. that caused her to go away. I realize now, I'm lucky she didn't leave a neg. or a neutral. I think ebay has a policy where you can write to them and ask for unrealistic negs and neutrals to be erased. yeah, artistjillian mentioned that. Sorry to hear about your neutral. Now, I'm scared!!!

sunshinesketches · ‎06-01-2006

Noooo, don't be scared! Just keep in mind that there are some people out there with unrealistic expectations. Good communication is the key... and if they leave poor feedback, just be sure of yourself that you've done your best work, and your best effort to resolve the issue. I love the look of the wax but wonder how delicate it is in the long-run? It's not a bad idea to say "Paypal only" for anyone out of the country. The border issue is a touchy subject for me, as I'm still waiting for my stoopid visa/living permit right now. We had to drive through NY state yesterday and the day before, and I confess I cry from homesickness when I see Ontario license plates, or the highway exit toward the border in Buffalo and later toward Montreal. Hello, we're allies and trading partners... why put a legitimate person through a meat-grinder.

irishkelly74 · ‎06-01-2006

I guess my thing with beeswax, si that it has been used in collages for a very long time. It is not a new thing. I was concerned about the atc get warmed up then smearing which is why I sealed it again in another sealer. I honestly think that she was talking about the wax on the back, but even if there was a problem, sellers should be contacted first. That is a good point about asking for paypal only for out of country sellers. I have about 20 items needing to be shipped out and I am waiting on a couple of customers, which I dont really mind. I dont think I should persue getting the feedback removed because what if she reports me to eBay for using her ereal name in her positive feedbback I left for her and the boot me off as she said they will? It's not worth it. It is only a neutral, which isnt bad and not great. It is just what it says, "neutral".

sunshinesketches · ‎06-01-2006

I didn't know that was against eBay rules... several people have used my real first name on feedback, not a biggie to me. I just remember when wax was used in assemblies for advertising... and if a courier left it in their truck for too long on a freezing cold winter day, all the letters and photos would fall off! That was in the days before everything was digitally rendered.

birdbluffstudio · ‎06-01-2006

yes! I remember that. I was a paste-up artist/slave for years. lol

ngothyeaun · ‎06-01-2006

Thank you so much for the names info. I use to address people's name in mails for example I don't just say 'Hi' instead I will write 'Dear John'. But I haven't mentioned name in feedback before. Thanks for enlighten me regarding this. Shipping is a big headache for me since I am from the far east. The package could easily takes 10 to 21 days to reach the buyers. That is why in my description I stated very clearly 10 to 21 days to avoid complaints from buyer. But usually within 14 days they will receive it.If the buyer really can't wait that long, I will suggest them to pay a bit more for FedEx.